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The Female Health Company / HLL Lifecare Limited Receive National AIDS Control Organization of India Order for 1.5 Million FC2 Female Condoms

Posted on: Thursday, 23 April 2009, 07:30 CDT

CHICAGO, April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Female Health Company (NYSE Alternext: FHC) which manufactures and markets the FC1 and FC2 Female Condoms(R), today announces that its technical collaboration with HLL Lifecare Limited (HLL) (formerly Hindustan Latex Limited) has been successful in winning another order from the National AIDS Control Organization of India. The order, for one and a half million (1,500,000) female condoms, will be manufactured in HLL's factory in Kochi, India. The female condom will be "FC2", the Nitrile polymer version of FHC's female condom. (The technical collaboration between the FHC and HLL has been partly funded by the British Government's Department for International Development through the Business Linkages Challenge Fund. The fund shares costs and risk with business partnerships for improved competitiveness, increased market access and to benefit the poor in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. For more details of the partnership visit

www.businesslinkageschallengefund.org/HealthFemaleContraception.aspx).

O.B. Parrish, Chairman and C.E.O. said that, "This order is the result of HLL's and Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust's (HLFPPT) continuing commitment to make the female condom accessible to the men and women of India. We are pleased to see the program's continuing growth and especially proud to have enabled production to commence in India for the Indian market. This is the first initiative of its kind."

Mr. M. Ayyappan, Chairman and Managing Director, HLL Lifecare Limited stated, "This NACO led FC Social Marketing initiative will enable millions of vulnerable women to stay protected from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. We are extremely happy to supply the Female Condoms for the NACO supported program from our commercial manufacturing facility set up at Kochi in collaboration with FHC."

About HLL Lifecare Limited

HLL Lifecare Limited (HLL) (www.lifecarehll.com), a government of India enterprise, was incorporated in 1966 to make superior quality male condoms widely available in India. Today, HLL is one of the world's largest manufacturers of male condoms with an annual production capacity of over 1.3 billion pieces. HLL also manufactures oral contraceptive pills, intra-uterine devices, blood transfusion bags, surgical sutures and rapid diagnostic kits. Headquartered in Trivandrum, Kerala in South India, HLL has manufacturing facilities with the ISO 9001:2000, ISO 13485:2003 and environmental management system certifications. HLL has the FDA 510(K) registration, CE Mark, KITE mark an, SABS mark for Male condoms. Today, HLL is the leading social marketing organization in the country in the area of contraceptives - with a market share of over 65 percent in the rural and semi urban markets. HLL had recently tied up with the New York-based philanthropic venture Acumen Fund to set up a chain of low-cost high quality hospitals under 'Lifespring' brand in rural India. HLL's brand today reach over 500,000 retail outlets in India and are being exported to over 115 countries today.

About The Female Health Company

The Female Health Company, based in Chicago, Illinois, manufactures and markets the FC Female Condom(R) (FC1) and the FC2 Female Condom (FC2), which are primarily distributed by public health organizations and donor groups in over 90 developing countries around the world. Globally, the Female Condoms are available in various programs in 116 countries. The Company owns certain worldwide rights to the FC Female Condom(R), including patents that have been issued in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the European Patent Convention, the People's Republic of China, Canada, South Korea and Australia. FC1 and FC2 Female Condoms(R) are the only available FDA-approved products controlled by a woman that offer dual protection against sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and unintended pregnancy.

"Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. -

The statements in this release which are not historical fact are "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the Company's current plan and strategies, and reflect the Company's current assessment of the risks and uncertainties related to its business, and are made as of the date of this release. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information or future events, developments or circumstances. Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results and future developments could differ materially from the results or developments expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: product demand and market acceptance; competition in the Company's markets and the risk of new competitors and new competitive product introductions; the Company's reliance on its international partners in the consumer sector and on the level of spending on the female condom by country governments, global donors and other public health organizations in the global public sector; the economic and business environment and the impact of government pressures; risks involved in doing business on an international level, including currency risks, regulatory requirements, political risks, export restrictions and other trade barriers; the Company's production capacity, efficiency and supply constraints; and other risks detailed in the Company's press releases, shareholder communication and Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008. Actual events affecting the Company and the impact of such events on the Company's operations may vary from those currently anticipated.

For more information about the Female Health Company visit the Company's website at http://www.femalehealth.com and http://www.femalecondom.org . If you would like to be added to the Company's e-mail alert list, please send an e-mail to FHCInvestor@femalehealthcompany.com

SOURCE Female Health Company

Source: PR Newswire

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